# MLW in Performance & Tool - Resets LW when LW \> MLW **URL:** \ **Category:** General\ **Created:** [September 6, 2026, 4:40pm UTC](https://forum.navigraph.com/t/mlw-in-performance-tool-resets-lw-when-lw-mlw/24250 "2026-09-06T16:40:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![VonycBln](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/34f0e0/32.png) [@VonycBln](https://forum.navigraph.com/u/VonycBln)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2026, 4:40pm UTC](https://forum.navigraph.com/t/mlw-in-performance-tool-resets-lw-when-lw-mlw/24250/1 "2026-09-06T16:40:18Z")
I ran into a situation today while preparing for landing where I exceeded the maximum landing weight… I didn’t even notice it at first during my checks because the calculator simply reset the landing weight to the maximum allowed value. I thought the system used to flag this—for instance, if you selected “Brake LOW” instead of the required “Brake MED” and the landing distance wasn’t sufficient, it would show an alert. I find the current behavior questionable: the actual value is ignored and silently capped at the maximum limit without anything turning red. ---
**Author:** ![GordonNG](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/forum.navigraph.com/gordonng/32/27797_2.png) [@GordonNG](https://forum.navigraph.com/u/GordonNG)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2026, 7:33am UTC](https://forum.navigraph.com/t/mlw-in-performance-tool-resets-lw-when-lw-mlw/24250/2 "2026-09-08T07:33:57Z")
Hello, So what you are finding is how the landing weight field in the performance tool is bounded. If you enter a weight _above_ the aircraft’ts MLW, the field constrains the value back down to the MLW rather than accepting it. Because the value is then within limits, nothing turns red. The alert you are thinking of, in sufficient landing distance for the selected brake setting, or tailwind component, those are performance limit checks and those still behave as before. MLW is a structural limit and is enforced by capping the value which is why it reacts differently and does not warn you. I agree that silently capping in this way can hide an over MLW situation. I’ll raise this with the SimBrief team. In the meantime, the most reliable area to check this is the flight plan itself, the weights section shows your planned landing weight against the maximum. SimBrief will normally reduce payload automatically to maintain or to keep below MLW. If you ever see the landing weigh exactly at the max, thats the sign it was limited. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![VonycBln](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/34f0e0/32.png) [@VonycBln](https://forum.navigraph.com/u/VonycBln)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2026, 3:09pm UTC](https://forum.navigraph.com/t/mlw-in-performance-tool-resets-lw-when-lw-mlw/24250/3 "2026-09-08T15:09:11Z")
It would be helpful if exceeding the MLW triggered a notification instead of simply resetting the entered weight back to the MLW limit. A sort of plausibility check. There are situations—where even SimBrief can’t help you beforehand—that result in exceeding your MLW; for instance, if you have to land due to an emergency, or if you get a “Direct To” (DCT) clearance that saves so much fuel that you end up above the MLW. With the A320, this happens quite easily—you might even take off above MLW, and depending on the distance and payload, you’re in a real bind if ATC decides to “do you a favor” (and you don’t decline it). ---
**Author:** ![ebuhoner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f1d935/32.png) [@ebuhoner](https://forum.navigraph.com/u/ebuhoner)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2026, 1:23am UTC](https://forum.navigraph.com/t/mlw-in-performance-tool-resets-lw-when-lw-mlw/24250/4 "2026-10-05T01:23:53Z")
I’m ok with the release not accepting it. In real life, an airline dispatcher would not be able to give you a release with a weight that exceeds MLW. This problem arises when you are very close to the landing weight limit on the planned release. In real life depending on the airline you work for, most airlines will give you the ACTUAL weights AFTER you close the aircraft door. You still had a release before (like the one simbrief creates) that you use for your planning purposes, but when you get your ACTUAL weights via either ACARS or on your Ipad and you load those values to your FMS, you can end up HEAVIER than planned on the release. And this is when this overweight for landing situation happens in real life. Airlines in their releases should give you this information and you as a pilot should always look for it. Now if that information is not in the release, then it is a problem. Simbrief should give this information one way or another, depending on the airline template that you are using. My complain and the reason I’m here in this forum today is that American Airlines in their real life release, will give you this information in their first couple of pages of the release (The TPS or Takeoff Performance Section) so that you can be more aware of this and play with the fuel burn enroute if necessary or simply return to the gate and kick off some passengers, so you don’t end up landing overweight and getting in troubles. But the Performance section in the Simbrief AAL template is not the same as in real life. So I can’t find it. In the Real template if the takeoff weight is limited by your landing weight, it will tell you something like: MTOW 155.8L. Meaning that your max weight for takeoff is 155.8, and the L means that its because of your landing weight. So if you are about to takeoff and your current weight is lets say 157.0 pounds, and you decide to takeoff, then, if you actually burn your planned fuel burn, you will land approximately 1,200 pounds Overweight. Which means you are going to get in a lot of troubles. Can we fix the performance section of the AAL template? ---
**Author:** ![VonycBln](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/34f0e0/32.png) [@VonycBln](https://forum.navigraph.com/u/VonycBln)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 3:12am UTC](https://forum.navigraph.com/t/mlw-in-performance-tool-resets-lw-when-lw-mlw/24250/5 "2026-10-16T03:12:20Z")
It’s not just about adjusting the planned weights. It’s simply about the fact that depending on the aircraft type—and the A320 on short-haul routes is a prime example—the TOW sits well above the MLW. This means that in the event of an immediate return to the departure airport or an unscheduled landing during the first third of the flight, you have to perform calculations for an overweight landing (\> MLW). The Performance Calculator absolutely needs to display this clearly; it cannot just be overlooked. Especially in the sim as a single pilot, you already have your hands full during normal operations, and something like this can easily slip through the cracks—but it can happen even under normal circumstances. Exceeding limits must always be flagged, everywhere that calculations and data entries are involved. Period. But what is truly mind-boggling—especially since Navigraph always prides itself on being as close to reality as possible—is the ignorance with which this topic is being handled. Just the mere fact that you programmed it so that any weight entered above MLW is simply overwritten with the MLW value, without displaying it anywhere… nothing, no warning, not even red text anywhere. It’s basically following the motto: ‘The clueless user entered weights that are too high, let’s just fix that for them.’ … That is honestly completely unacceptable. This flight as an example, nothing special pretty common in europe … short runway at the origin airport, its friday, all seats occupied, a bit of luggage and the TOW is around 66t, the MLW is 64,5t. Shortly after takeoff, medical emergency, need to return to the origin … lets calculate… We can’t even calculate it properly because the SimBrief performance calculator silently manipulates our inputs—or perhaps we just don’t notice the manipulation. We see an 83-meter margin, it’s not raining, so we think, “Yeah, that’ll work” (nobody would actually do it this way, but let’s just assume for a moment)… 83 meters seems fine, right? Wrong! If we base our calculations on that, we’ll end up in the mud beyond the runway—or, as happened not too long ago, crashing into an obstacle at the end of the runway. > **[SimBrief - Dispatch](https://dispatch.simbrief.com/briefing/189902060)** > > Generate virtual flight plans in seconds ![image](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/uploads/navigraph1/original/3X/3/d/3d08a66aaec97403a414ca196a280017200f891c.png) [![](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/uploads/navigraph1/original/3X/0/5/054304ecdf44c1470ebc705fd29cae62db1b3b9c.jpeg "Simbrief Perf Calc") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp70c1vGC9I)